Lyoto Machida, also known as "The Karate Kid" of UFC, has recently announced that he will not be fighting fellow Brazilian Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at their highly anticipated rematch scheduled for January 2, 2010. As it turns out, Machida will need surgery to repair an injured hand which he sustained during UFC 104.
The Karate Kid and Shogun coming to blows yet again has been the subject of hullabaloo among UFC fans since Machida already defeated Rua via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to retain the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. However, UFC president Dana White has recently confirmed that a rematch was to take place due to widespread controversy and denouncement of the judges' decision.

"I'd like to say that this fight was hard, Shogun is a tough guy. I know I won and I have no doubt. Whoever understands about fights [knows] it," Machida Tweeted on Sunday afternoon. "From now on we are [going] to prepare ourselves and study more to the revenge, so it will be no questions about it any more."

"Thanks for the great support from the fans," Machida added. "This week I'll heading to Hawaii with my wife and son for some rest. I'll be back to Belem soon..Good bye guys!"

Though Machida's cancellation of the rematch is sure to add salt the controversy, some UFC fans are pleased with the delay since this will extend both players' time to train for their next fight.

Machida has an unblemished 16-0 record, including five wins by knockout. He has defeated Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva, Sam Hoger, Rich Franklin, Kazuhiro Nakamura and Rashad Evans just to name a few, while staying true to his unique karate fighting style.  



-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: ESPN
(Image courtesy of Getty Images)